New Member, New Ride!

Hi, my name is Mark Nelson, I live in Vermont and make videos for a hobby.
I decided that my eZip (electric bike) wasn't sufficient, and needed something that was usefull for longer distances and more varied weather, so I purchased a 2008 Aveo with 79,000 miles at auction for $1300 (plus $71 auction fees)
It's a red hatchback with a manual transmission, and the base model with all the great weight saving features like no AC, crank windows, and manual door locks. Pics are coming soon!

I'd like your recommendations for what I should repair, replace or fix on it, and what to look for to make sure it's in top shape and I won't get any nasty surprises down the road. So far I plan on changing the timing-belt/pulleys/water-pump, as well as the valve cover gasket (it's leaking) and I'd also like to switch out the radio for an after market one with bluetooth and the steel rims for some nicer alloys.

I ran a carfax, and it seems to have been well maintained, and the oil+filter, brake pads+front rotors, alternator, battery, wheel bearings/hubs, tires, have all been replaced since 74,000 miles/in the last two years, as well as an exhaust repair.

I think that's pretty much everything, but if there's anything else I should do I'd love to hear it.

I think this is gonna be a fun ride, and I look forward to finding lots of info on the site, as well as maybe posting some of my own!

Photos!

As promised, here are the photos! I'll try to get some better ones once I have it cleaned up and can move it to a better location, but these will do for now.

I've started doing some work on it, the factory radio wasn't working so I replaced the fuse (quite a job ) and that fixed it, the rear hatch and filler cap levers were stuck, so I used some spray-on lithium grease to free them up, I checked the thermostat housing (it is metal), and I pulled out the air filter housing (which was rusted shut) and ordered a new one, along with a haynes repair manual, a valve cover gasket, and a gates timing belt kit. Once I get those on, and new air and cabin filters, it should be inspection and registration time!

Alright, I'm really frustrated right now, and not sure if I should make a separate thread, but my gates timing belt kit came today from rockauto, and the water pump had a plastic impeller, and was busted, so I'll work on sending it back, but should I get the parts individually instead of a kit? and if so what brands have metal impellers?

I got my kit from Amazon, it was an OE Daewoo belt and tensioners and water pump, with a metal impeller. My kit also had GM cam and crank seals. I paid $86.95 plus tax. The seller was The Parts Universe and it was fulfilled by Amazon. Here's a link, hope it works: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Update Time

Alright, time for an update, My Dad and I spent Wednesday changing out the timing belt and pulleys, water pump, and valve cover gasket. I ended up going with a Gates belt, and Ac-Delco pump on my dad's recommendation. The installation went fairly smoothly/easily, (especially when compared to his '04 v6 Passat wagon) and then I drained and put fresh coolant in.

I could't find a piece of PVC the right size to press in the camshaft seals (I didn't bother with the crankshaft one) so I 3D printed a tool to pound on. If anyone is interested in the .stl file let me know and I'll post it.
Then I put the air cleaner box back in with a new filter, and buttoned everything back up. The intake hose was cracked, so I taped it up with electrical tape while I wait for the new one to come.
Two things I noticed, were that the old water pump impeller had started to separate, and was worn from contact with the side of the engine, (the engine itself looked fine) and that we weren't able to get anywhere close to 45 additional degrees of rotation out of the crankshaft bolt after torquing it to the recommend spec.(with a two foot breaker bar) Is this anything I should be concerned about?

After reseting a code from starting it without the air intake sensor plugged in it runs like a charm, now onto that legal stuff like registration, inspection....

... we weren't able to get anywhere close to 45 additional degrees of rotation out of the crankshaft bolt after torquing it to the recommend spec.(with a two foot breaker bar) Is this anything I should be concerned about? ...

Is this because you couldn't force the bar any further, or that it was breaking free and slipping as additional torque was being applied? Roughly how much angle did you get it to move?

WyrTwister; Mine has a metal thermostat housing, not sure if it was factory, or upgraded.

avguy; We couldn't force it any further, (same for the motor mount bolts) There was some movement of the motor (presumably in the mounts), but we definitely got the 70 ft-lb of torque on it, I'm not sure how much after that, because my dad was the one doing the tightening.